FanHouse Olindo Mare

Stephen Gostkowski has been one of the highest point-scoring kickers this season, so you'll always find him toward the top of the rankings. This week seems even more sure-fire, though, for two reasons. First of all, the Patriots' once-vaunted offense seemed to be back on track prior to a bye week, in which they were able to rest and further prepare. Secondly, only the Browns, Chiefs and Raiders have allowed more kicking points than the Pats' opponent this week, Miami. Gostkowski as the top kicking option is a no-brainer.

1. Stephen Gostkowski, NE vs. MIA
2. Lawrence Tynes, NYG vs. SD
3. Mason Crosby, GB at TB
4. John Carney, NO vs. CAR
5. David Akers, PHI vs. DAL

With all the offensive stars New England has, you would think someone like Tom Brady would be leading the team in total points. But it's kicker Stephen Gostkowski that's blazing the trail, with 30 points through three games. He nailed all four of his attempts last week against Atlanta en route to a 14-point showing, and with another tough defense on tap his leg should be golden again. If this keeps up, he'll have no problem matching his 148 points from last season.

1. Stephen Gostkowski, NE vs. BAL
2. John Carney, NO vs. NYJ
3. Nate Kaeding, SD @ PIT
4. Ryan Longwell, MIN vs. GB
5. Matt Prater, DEN vs. DAL

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Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.

Football is very often a game in which the 21 men not carrying the ball all do significant work in determining what happens on the given play. Field goals and extra points are usually the exception. While, yes, there is the occasional bad snap or missed block that throws everything into oblivion, most of the time kicking is like clockwork -- the ball is safely pinned to the ground by the holder, and everybody becomes irrelevant except for one guy. The kicker.

I think it's pretty stupid, personally.

Olindo Mare has made over 80 percent of his field-goal attempts during a long 14-year NFL career. So let's just say that Sunday was not his finest effort.

It's rare that a coach will single out a player after a loss -- and even rarer that he'll more or less blame an entire defeat on the efforts of one guy, but that's what Seattle coach Jim Mora did to Mare after the Seahawks kicker missed two of six field-goal attempts in a 25-19 loss to Chicago.

"There' s no excuses for those," Mora said in his post-game press conference of Mare's misses. "If you're a kicker in the National Football League, you should make those kicks. Bottom line. End of story. Period. No excuses. No wind. Doesn't matter."

Since arriving in Chicago, Jay Cutler's been fighting the stigma that he's more of a stat-monger than a winner. The only way to change the feelings of the general public is to go out and win tough games. Anyone can look good during a blowout of an inferior opponent.

For the second consecutive week, Cutler has won close games in come-from-behind fashion. Last week, he led the Bears on a 72-yard, game-tying touchdown drive and then a 41-yard game-winning field goal drive against the Steelers. Sunday afternoon, Cutler brought the Bears back from an early 13-0 deficit to lead 17-13. The Bears lost the lead, but that was of no consequence, as Cutler again led them on a game-winning drive.

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With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse previewed each and every team, closing with the Seahawks. Click here to view the rest.

Meet the ...
Jim Mora Space Needlers, starring T.J. WhosYoMama on air guitar and T.J. Duckett on drums. Mora succeeds Mike Holmgren after his decade-long reign and vows to change some things. That includes ramping up the rushing attack and attacking on defense. But Mora's goal is easier stated than accomplished short-term, and when looking at this roster from a fantasy perspective, the more enticing options seem to be in the passing game.

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Good news: linebacker Lofa Tatupu will be in Seattle through 2015 after signing a six-year, $40 million deal last week. More good news: the team also inked cornerback Marcus Trufant to a six-year, $50 million contract. Bad news: the Seahawks have decided to replace Josh Brown, one of the league's best kickers, with Olindo Mare, one of the league's worst kickers.

Okay, that's probably an overstatement, but there's no disputing that Mare had an embarrassingly awful 2007 season with the Saints. It was so bad, in fact, that New Orleans released Mare a year after trading for him. And that was after they had signed Martin Gramatica as insurance. If a team has to bring in "Automatica," your job's probably up for grabs. Which shouldn't have been completely unexpected since Mare converted a whopping 59 percent of his kicks last year, and eight of those games were played indoors.

What does this mean for the Seahawks? Well, they better score a lot of points, because Mare is nowhere near the player he was in Miami. Or the player that Josh Brown is in St. Louis. Which makes you wonder why Seattle didn't make more of an effort to keep him.

Hat tip: ProFootballTalk.com